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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

5 Little Monkeys Cafe @ PICO Creative Centre

When I heard about the 5 Little Monkeys Cafe, my first thought is that it is another hipster cafe serving the usual mircowave heat up food and supplier sourced cakes and pastries. I am glad that my curiosity just like the monkeys, brought me to the cafe located on the eleventh floor of an office building in Lavender. Taking up the whole floor on the eleventh level, the cafe is huge and spacious, with a great unblock city view.

Gourmet Hamburger 3.5/5

The menu at 5 Little Monkeys Cafe is quite extensive, offering items from Western Delights to Peranakan cuisine. We started with the Gourmet Hamburger ($11.80) with fries and salad from the Western Delights menu. It was quite a good burger which was moist and juicy. There are other western fares such as pizzas, sandwiches and wraps on the menu too.

Kueh Pie Tee 3/5

For some small bites, we had the Kueh Pie Tee ($3.8 for 3pc / $6 for 5pc). I felt that the pie tee cups was a bit too thick in textures, not allowing me to appreciate the spicy and sweet mixture of thinly sliced vegetables and prawn.

Sambal Prawn with Petai 4/5

The surprise discovery at 5 Little Monkeys Cafe is their Peranakan dishes. The Sambal Prawn with Petai ($6.50) comes with a good spicy kick, well coated around the sweetness of the crunchy prawns.

Beef Rendang 4.2/5

The scrumptious Beef Rendang ($10,80) was one of my favourite among the dishes I tried. The succulent beef cooked in a rich and aromatic rempah is bursting with the robust flavour with every bite of it.

Chap Chye 4/5

There are many interpretation of the Chap Chye ($5) and I would say the version by Chef Goh is unlike what I have eaten before. The mixed vegetable stew is cooked to a crunchy instead of softness. It also is not as sweet as most chap chye elsewhere.

Fish Maw Soup 3.8/5

I really appreciate the effort of the chef in the Fish Maw Soup ($10.80). He made the effort to stuffed the fish maw with minced chicken meat. The soup was clear with mild sweetness of the cabbage. Chef also added a dash of Chinese wine to bring up the flavour.

Assam Fish Head Curry 4.5/5

The highlight of the night has to be the Assam Fish Head Curry ($35). I could not resist ordering a plate of rice to soak up the delicious curry that has a mix of spiciness, tanginess and creaminess. The huge fish head is good to serve 3 to 4 pax. As only limited quantities is available each day, it is best to pre-order it. Do also allow 20-30 minutes of waiting time.

I personally think 5 Little Monkeys Cafe is a hidden gem serving good Peranakan cuisine, especially the Assam Fish Head Curry. Furthermore, who would expect to find a cafe on the eleventh floor of an office building. I am glad that my curiosity brought me to discover this little gem in Lavender.